Our Time Has Passed
by HopefulRomantic123
Summary: -Discontinued- Being adopted by ChameleonxBookworm
1. Graduations

**Disclaimer for whole story: Stepheni**e **Meyer owns Twilight and all of tis characters, I don't.**

**A/N: If you like it and review, i will continue.**

I felt silly because, as Edward and Emmett threw their graduation caps into the air, tears ran down my cheeks. I quickly brought my hand up and swiped them away. The graduates exited the stage and made their way to their different families. Emmett found us – Renee, Charlie, and I – and picked me up in a bear hug.

"Can you believe it, Bella? I graduated high school! I'm going to college!" Emmett said excitedly. Then, Emmett saw my face and groaned. "Bella, I don't care if those are happy tears or not, don't cry on my happy day!"

I let out a strangled laugh. "Fine!" I huffed and wiped the remaining tears away, hoping those would be the last tears I cried today.

Emmett hugged Renee and Charlie, then the Hales and the Cullens made their way towards us. Rosalie broke into a run and jumped on Emmett. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. "You're a graduate!" She cried. The parents cleared their throats, but all the teenagers laughed. Rosalie hopped down and grinned at everybody.

I made my way over to Edward and he grinned at me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. "I'm so proud of you," I whispered. When I pulled back to look at his face, he was smiling, but he didn't look as happy as someone should if they just graduated high school. I ignored it, hoping he would just forget about whatever was bothering him.

I took a step back, one of Edward's arms still around my waist. I looked at everyone around me. This was my family. Edward and Alice Cullen and their parents. Alice was my age, and going into eleventh grade next year. Edward was two years older than us, and going to college next year.

Then, you have the Hales. Rosalie, Jasper, and their parents. Rosalie and Jasper were twins; both of them were going into their senior year this year.

Then, the Swans – my biological family. Well, Renee was a Dwyer; she had remarried to a man named Phil a few years ago. She and Charlie were my parents. Emmett was my older brother, who just graduated high school. I was going into eleventh grade this year.

We had all been friends since we were toddlers. Despite our age differences, we had stayed best friends. I was positive it was going to stay that way. In some cases, we became more than friends.

Emmett and Rosalie started dating when Rose was in eight grade. Jasper and Alice got together a few months later.

A month later, when Edward was a freshman, and I was in seventh grade, he asked me to be his girlfriend. I had, had a crush on him for a while, so I, of course, said yes.

We've all been together since.

That night, we all had a celebration dinner at the Cullen house. It was an amazing dinner. We talked and laughed, just enjoying each other's presence. The food was really good, also.

A few days later, we were at the airport to see Renee off. She had to go home to Phil. It was a tearful goodbye. Even when we knew we were going to see her at the end of the summer so she could help Emmett settle into his college dorm, we were still sad.

But the summer went on. Each and everyday, Emmett got even more psyched about attending University of Washington. Each and everyday, I saw less and less of Edward. I would be lucky to see him once a week. I got even more worried after each phone call I would make to him, and he didn't answer.

One day, a week before Edward was scheduled to leave for Dartmouth, there was a knock at the door. I opened the door and saw Edward. I threw my arms around his neck because I hadn't seen him in over two weeks, but he unwrapped them from around me. I looked at him a bit shocked.

"Bella, we're over," he blurted out. I blinked, and when the words sunk in, I gasped. This couldn't happen. We were strong enough, well, before this summer we had been, to have a long distance relationship.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that," he said in a rush. When I didn't respond, he continued. "It wouldn't be fair to either of us. I mean, I should be allowed to live my college experience to the fullest. You should be able to date other guys while you're in high school, Bella."

"Don't do this," I whispered.

"It's already done. Goodbye, Bella," He said and turned around. He hopped into his stupid, shiny Volvo and left. He just left. Just like that. I started to cry when his Volvo was out of sight. A four year long relationship gone down the drain in less than five minutes.

After a while, Emmett came downstairs. "What are you doing, Bella?"

When I turned around, and he saw my face, his eyes went wide. "Oh, no," he muttered.

He shut the front door, the one I had failed to close, and picked me up. He carried me upstairs into my room, laid me down on my bed, and covered me up with a blanket. Then, he laid down next to me. For a while, we just stared up at the ceiling.

"I told him not to do this," he said, interrupting the silence.

"You knew?" My voice came out choked up.

"He told me a long distance relationship wouldn't work. That was all."

That was the end of our conversation. We stayed like that for hours. Charlie checked up on us a few times. I think someone called and told him what happened. Maybe, Esme.

When the sun went down, Emmett fell asleep. I stayed awake, listening to Emmett's snores.

I stayed in my room for days afterwards. The only visitors I accepted were Emmett and Charlie's occasional check-ups.

When it was time to see Edward off, I stayed in my room and cried.

When it was time to tell Emmett goodbye, I hugged him in my room.

While Charlie, Renee, and Emmett were driving to Seattle, where Emmett's college was, I packed my bags. I told my parents when they got back that I was going to Florida with Renee. The next day, I saw my friends that I had been avoiding, and told them goodbye. It was very tearful. I think I even saw Jasper cry. He knew that he probably wouldn't see me again. Rosalie and Alice cried, of course; they were girls. I lost all contact with them after that.

When I called to tell Emmett, he said that if I didn't come to see him sometimes, he would kick my butt.

I finished out high school in Florida. I visited Forks twice during that time. The first time was when Jasper and Rosalie graduated. I flew to Forks and visited with Charlie and Emmett. I made sure that they knew that no one was supposed to know that I was there. The next day I sneaked into the back of Forks High School's gym and watched the ceremony in a sweatshirt and ball cap, as to not be recognized. I made sure to take lots of pictures. I sneaked back out of the gym as soon as it was over, so my friends wouldn't see me. All of them had been there, including Edward.

I hadn't wanted them to see me because I was ashamed. I had been the coward to flee Forks because I had been dumped.

The next year, I did the same thing when Emmett called to say that Alice was graduating.

A few years later, while I was attending University of Florida, Emmett called to say that he was graduating. I did the same thing, except when he came back to Forks that night, I had a big dinner cooked. He came in with Renee and Charlie and a few duffle bags because he was staying their until he found his own place. I gave him a big hug, and we celebrated over dinner. I left back to Florida a few days later.

A few months later, Edward was graduating from Dartmouth. I flew up North, rented a hotel, sneaked into the ceremony, took pictures, and went back to Florida. All the while, avoiding my friends.

The same when Rosalie, Jasper, and Alice graduated from University of Florida. I even stayed in a hotel because I knew after their graduation, they might go back to Forks. I stayed in Forks during Emmett's graduation because the others had to stay in Seattle; they had classes the next day. I was lucky the graduations never interfered with my classes.

Now, three months after I had sneaked into Alice's graduation, I threw my own graduate cap. I exited the stage to find my family. Emmett's muscular frame wasn't hard to find. He picked me up and spun me around. "My little sister graduated college!" He sang. I hugged Charlie, Renee, and Phil after he put me down. I had made sure Emmett and Charlie didn't tell anyone in Forks I was graduating.

We went back to my apartment after I had hugged some of my friends because I didn't feel like doing anything extravagant. I made some spaghetti, and we sat down around my small table. We didn't talk about anything to important. We just sat around enjoying the food.

Well, there was nothing too important until Emmett opened his mouth.

"Bella, you should come home."

"I am home," I said nonchalantly. I knew what he was really saying, but I was trying to avoid this conversation.

"Don't play dumb with me, Bella. You know, as well as I do, that Florida was never your home. It's always been rainy Forks."

I looked at Renee to see if he had hurt feelings in any way with what he said, but she just reached for the Parmesan cheese. Then, she looked back up at me. "He's right, Sweetie. You love Forks more than Florida. Though, I don't see why." The last part she said more to herself, than anyone else. I gasped at her words. I looked around the table to see everyone nodding.

"Please, will you move back to Forks, Bella?"

A refusal was on the tip of my tongue, but it didn't come out of my mouth. I surprised myself – and everyone else. "Fine."

After a few days, we were ready to leave. I had, had to pack up all my clothes and a few other miscellaneous possessions, take all the food in my kitchen to the local homeless shelter, and a few things I had just thrown away. I didn't really have any furniture because I had rented a furnished apartment.

With the money I have saved up, I would rent an already furnished apartment in Forks. I would have to get a job, too. It shouldn't be hard, though. Forks Hospitable could always use another nurse.

We dropped Charlie off at the airport, then we started driving. Charlie was going to fly to Washington, while Emmett and I drove the long journey in my little Honda Civic – my truck had died out a few years ago. I had made sure to tell Charlie to not tell anyone I was coming. I wanted it to be a surprise. His story for the Cullens and Hales was that Emmett was staying in Florida a little bit longer to visit mom and I. That he didn't know when exactly Emmett was coming home, so it's not like they could show up at the airport to pick him up, thinking Emmett was flying up.

On the way up there Emmett and I took turns driving. We stopped at hotels, occasionally, to sleep and get showered. We fought constantly over directions. By the time we reached Seattle, we were worn out. We stopped at a hotel, showered, and got a full night's sleep. The next day, we left out, ready to get home. A little while before we got there, he called dad to tell him.

"Hey, Dad," Emmett said. "We're almost home. . . Tell everyone to come over. . . Tell them that I landed and just called a taxi. . . Okay, bye."

I took in a deep breath and tried to concentrate on driving. "It'll be okay, Bella. It's not like you haven't seen them recently. You sneaked into all of their graduations, remember?" Emmett laughed, amused at my tactics.

"Don't laugh. I'm scared. I haven't talked to them in forever. And Edward. . . " Edward moved back to Forks after his graduation with a degree in music. He was working with a record company in Seattle; his first a CD was coming out soon. I was very proud of him.

Emmett sobered. " It'll be okay. . . You still love him don't you?"

I nodded my head. I really did love him. I had just learned to let him go. We were quiet the rest of the ride.

When we pulled into the packed driveway of the Swan house, I just sat there staring at all the cars. Edward's Volvo, Rosalie's BMW, Alice's Porsche, Jasper's Aston Martin, and others. "Come on," Emmett said and hopped out. When he saw that I hadn't moved, he came around to my side and practically pulled me out.

I grabbed his hand and held on for dear life. He smiled down at me and then led me into the house.


	2. Greetings

I stopped before we entered the living room, where we heard the voices coming from. "I can't do this." I attempted to turn around, but Emmett had hold of one of my hands. He pulled me back to him, but I tried to tug free. It went back and forth like this for a few minutes until he picked me up by my waist and threw me over his shoulder.

I pounded my fists against his back and tried to kick, but his arm was around the bend in my knees, so I wouldn't fall. He began to walk forward. "Emmett, no!" I cried. He continued to walk forward, and I continued to hit him. "Stop! Please, Emmett! I'm not ready!" I yelled. My attempts were in vain; we were already in the living room. He set me down. I looked around me. All my friends and family were here – well, of course, except for Renee. People I hadn't talked to in six years. I had seen them, just not talked to them. Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, and. . . Edward. All the parents: Charlie, Esme and Carlisle Cullen, Liz and John Hale. And they were all gawking at me, except Charlie. I had seen him and talked to him, therefore, he didn't gawk at me.

"Welcome home, you guys!" Charlie exclaimed. He came forward, and we both gave him a hug.

When we stepped back, Emmett looked at Rose and opened his arms. "Don't I get a hug, Rosie?" She continued to gape at me, so he walked forward and picked her up from the couch. She squealed and swatted at his head. "Ouch!" Emmett said, "What was that for?" Rose wriggled out of his grasp and walked towards me. She hesitantly put her arms around me, and I did the same. I had missed her so much. So much it hurt to think about.

"Bella," She whispered. It wasn't a question, but I nodded my head, anyway. She squeezed me a bit tighter before letting go.

I turned around to Emmett. "Ha, ha. She loves me more!" I boasted, then stuck out my tongue. Rosalie proceeded to smack me in the head. "Ouch! What was that for?!"

"For leaving for six darn years!"

I hung my head. After a moment I lifted it and looked at Rose. "Thanks."

She looked confused. "What for?"

"I deserved a lot worse."

Our conversation was cut short by Alice. " Bella! It really _is_ you!" She threw her tiny arms around my waist. I squeezed her tight. "I can't believe it," she murmured. She finally pulled away, but not without a last squeal.

Jasper walked forward next. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, and I wrapped mine around his waist. We stayed like that for a moment. When we pulled away, he whispered, "I missed you."

"You, too, Jazz."

Esme and Carlisle were next. I hugged them both, as we talked about how much we missed each other. The same with Liz and John.

The only person I hadn't hugged was Edward. He stood off to the side watching the exchanges. I looked at him, and, when he looked at me, I smiled at him. He seemed a bit shocked. He would have to learn that we had been friends since before kindergarten. That meant that, now, we couldn't just avoid each other as exes because we had been friends before we had become a couple.

I did still love Edward, but I wasn't hung up on him. I would _always_ love him, but I had let him go, as I had said before. If he went out and got a girlfriend today, and he was happy with her, I would be happy for him. I wouldn't be a jealous ex-girlfriend, I would be his friend.

"Let's all sit down, so Bella can tell us what she's been up to for the last few years, " Liz said. Rose, Alice, and I sat down on one of the couches. Emmett and Jasper sat in the floor in front of the couch. Edward sat next to Carlisle and Esme on the couch, opposite of us. Liz sat in the recliner, whilst John and Charlie went and got themselves kitchen chairs to sit in.

"What have you been up to, Bella?" Esme asked.

I took a deep breath. "Well. . . I moved in with Renee when I left. I graduated from the local high school and then went on to University of Florida. I graduated with a degree in journalism. That's about all."

"Don't forget all those graduations you went to!" Emmett exclaimed.

"_Emmett_. . . " I hissed. Emmett's eyes went wide; I guess, he didn't mean to say that out loud. If it weren't under these circumstances, I would have rolled my eyes at him.

"What does he mean by that, Bella?" Jasper asked.

Oh, no. What was I going to tell them. I sneaked into all of their graduations, but didn't talk to them? That I completely avoided them at their _own_ graduations? Curse Emmett _and_ his tendency to speak before thinking about what he was going to say. I looked around to see what everyone thought of this ordeal. Everyone looked confused, except for Alice. She looked suspicious. I swallowed hard.

"Well, um, I – I went to all of your graduations. High school and college."

After my little announcement, I looked around at all of their facial expressions. They were shocked.

**A/N: **

**Anyway. . . if there are mistakes, I edited this while I was really tired. Stupid, I know. Sorry.**

**I need some more reviews!!!! Especially, if you want more updates.**

**Has anyone read a good all human fanfic? If so let me know in a review please. It doesn't matter which couple it's about, though. No lemons in it please. Am I being too picky?**


	3. Scrapbook

**IMPORTANT:** **Hey, I'm back. So, I was reading through the story and there's something I need to clear up. In the first chapter I accidentally put that Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper graduated from ** **University of Florida. They did **_**not**_** graduate from there. They graduated from University of Seattle. Another thing I did was say she was a nurse, then said she graduated from college with a degree in journalism. She is a journalist! Sorry for my careless mistakes. On with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight saga! Stephenie Meyer does, though!**

"You have _got _to be joking." Rosalie – always so blunt – was the first to break the silence. Alice had a knowing smirk on her face. Sometimes she really scared me. Jasper sat there, looking at me. His eyes were wide, and he kept blinking. Every time he blinked, his eyes got wider. It was quite comical. I would have laughed if I weren't still so nervous. Edward sat across from us with his head hung. His unruly, bronze, hair was flopping in his eyes.

"Nope, she's not joking. You should have seen her. It was like she was going under cover; it was funny. She had a sweatshirt on and the hood was pulled up over a ball cap. A camera covered her face most of the time. I think she got more pictures than any of us did." I hung my head in embarrassment at Emmett's words.

"Can we see them?" Alice asked. I nodded my head.

"Emmett come with me to get the bags, please." We walked out to the car in silence and grabbed the bags. Emmett got the heavier ones; they were most likely the ones stuffed with books. I got the lighter ones, on Emmett's insistence. Right before I opened the door for us, Emmett spoke up, "You did the right thing, you know. Coming home, I mean. They're ecstatic to have you back." I smiled at him in appreciation and opened the door. We walked up the stairs and put the bags away. A few that he had taken to Florida himself went into his old room, until tonight when he would go back to his apartment.

I scrounged through the bag that I thought I had put the scrapbook in, until I found it. I had put all of our graduation pictures in it. Even mine. My college ones were put into it at the hotels we had stopped at because I hadn't had time to back in Florida while trying to get ready to move. The scrapbook was over flowing with pictures. It wouldn't even close completely because it was so full of pictures.

Emmett and I walked down the stairs side by side and into the living room. I tossed the book onto the coffee table and Rose, Alice, Jasper, and even Edward gathered around it. Emmett and Charlie had already seen it, and the other parents were going to wait their turns.

Every once in a while someone would comment on a picture.

"I remember that!"

"Oh, that's a good picture!"

"Wow. How did you get such good pictures?"

"Aw. She looks so happy!"

It was comments like those that were thrown around at least every other picture. All of a sudden, they froze and gasped, simultaneously. It was kind of creepy. I leaned over them to see what had caused such a reaction out of my friends. It was a picture of Edward. He was in his graduation robes, his diploma held over his head for all to see, and he was grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, I love that picture. That's one of my favorite pictures of you, Edward."

After a moment, Edward looked up at me, the others following suit. "You were at my college graduation, too?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, I said that I was at everybody's graduation. I wasn't going to miss it."

"But–" he stopped and just shook his head. He looked back down at the scrapbook as Alice started turning pages, again. After they were through with it, the parents looked at it and made some of the same comments – well, except the on about Edward's graduation.

After that, we called it a night. I was a thankful. I was drained. Emotionally and physically. We all hugged as they left. Except for Edward who just walked right out the front door without once glancing back. Emmett was last to leave, for he had to get his bags from his old room.

He told Charlie goodnight and, then, came to give me a hug. He kissed my forehead. "Proud of you, Bells." He left before I could say anything. After that, I told Charlie goodnight, and I went up to my old room to sleep. I would have to look for an a apartment, soon, but in the mean time I would be staying here.


End file.
